Yew bonsai

yew bonsai

Yew bonsai is one of the most beautiful, but also more difficult to care for since although it resists intense frosts, the drought causes many problems. In addition, you have to take into account a series of things so that you do not get sick; things that I will tell you next.

If you want to have one, after reading this article you will know how to care for a yew bonsai .

What is the yew like?

Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata

First of all, it is interesting to know what the yew is like, since this way we can expect certain reactions from it when it is worked as bonsai. As well. Yew or Taxus is an evergreen conifer native to Western Europe. It reaches a height between 10 and 28 meters, although you have to be very patient to see it like this since its growth is very slow.

Its trunk is thick, brown in color, with a rounded crown composed of lanceolate and dark green leaves. The roots often establish symbiotic relationships with fungi, which allow them to better absorb nutrients.

The whole plant is poisonousexcept the aril that covers the berries it produces. Furthermore, it is dioecious (rarely monoecious), and blooms in late winter or early spring.

How do you care for yew bonsai?

Bonsai from Taxus with forest style

Woodland-style Taxus Bonsai

If you want to have a yew bonsai, we advise you to take care of it in the following way:

  • Location: outside, in full sun.
  • Substratum: 100% akadama, or mixed with 30% kiryuzuna.
  • Irrigation: about 4-5 times a week in summer, somewhat less the rest of the year.
  • Pruning: in autumn and winter remove dry, diseased, weak or broken branches, as well as those that are not included in the style you want to give it. Clamp during the growing season those that are getting too long.
    Do not prune during frost or in the hottest season.
  • Wiring: from mid-autumn to spring, checking the wire from time to time so that it does not get embedded in the branch.
  • Transplant: every 2-3 years, in spring.
  • Multiplication: by seeds or cuttings of cultivated specimens, in spring. The Taxus baccata It is a protected species and it is forbidden to extract it from nature.
  • Rusticity: it resists frosts down to -18ºC.

Enjoy your bonsai.